The purpose of this proposal is to develop an integrated program to investigate specific aging parameters in ocular tissues. Our initial goal will be to modify the slit lamp densitographic apparatus for monochromatic UV and visible light studies on the anterior segments of the eye so that we will be able to correlate the experimental data we have already accumulated with direct objective measurements. This will enable us to obtain in vivo data with respect to several aging parameters in the eye; namely, 1. 440 and 520 nm fluorescence changes in the lens with age and nuclear cataract formation, 2. changes in density and specific location of cortical opacities in aging lens and in senile cataracts, 3. direct measurements of the anterior chamber depth, 4. corneal thickness and changes in corneal fluorescence with age and in the patients with corneal dystrophy. This study will be correlated with a similar evaluation of whole donor eyes from the Georgia Lions Eye Bank. The excised tissues will be evaluated by slit lamp densitographic measurements in order to correlate this data (on excised whole lenses and tissues) with the fluorescences and UV visible transmission data we have already obtained. The recent work on photochemical damage to the retina, particularly with the shorter visible (400-500 nm) and ultraviolet light (300-400 nm), suggests a second area to be investigated. The retinal tissues from donor eyes will be subjected to careful morphological evaluation and the data correlated with the extent of pigmentation in each lens; i.e., the more effectively the lens acts as a filter (the more pigment it has) the lower the potential for photochemically induced age related changes in such eyes. The drainage angle portion of the donor eyes will be utilized to develop new fixation methods to study possible alterations in Schlemm's canal as a factor in outflow resistance.